Reincarnations
by The Fluffy Muffin Queen
Summary: [Completed] When InuYasha dies, Kagome becomes REALLY depressed, so her mom gets her a dog. Why is the dog so... familiar and keeps on reminding her of InuYasha? Hm... and lately, she's been seeing him too... InuxKag
1. A Death in a Hallowed Hall

_(A/N: The Kikyo Hater here with a totally knew idea! I got it while reading 'The Dog' by __Millie M. Banshee__ ((It's on here on FanFiction! Look it up! It's good! )), and the story in my mind kept growing and growing as I read The Dog, so… here it is! _

_Summary: InuYasha dies protecting Kagome against Naraku, killing Naraku. Kagome blames herself (survivor's guilt), and gets all depressed. So, to cheer her up, her mom buys her a dog. It's silver and has golden eyes. The dog pretty much ignores Kagome, but is always there when she needs him the most. In memory of InuYasha, she gives the dog his namesake. Of course, she doesn't realize who the dog really is… Oooooooooh:X_

_Disclaimer: I, in no way shape or form, own InuYasha! I do not have the mind capacity to own such a wonderful thing, the drawing ability, nor the attention span needed to create a manga series. I've tried. I've failed… miserably… Further more, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, AND I- Oh, look… a butterfly!!! –runs off giggling after the pink and blue butterfly ((I DON'T CARE IF THEY AREN'T REAL!!!!)) and lets you continue with the fan fiction-)_

**Chapter One**

**A Death in a Hallowed Hall**

His breathing was slow; Kagome had to bite her tongue as to not cry. For him.

She moved his long silver hair out of his amber eyes that were showing more emotion than she had ever seen them show. They were now closed against the pain. Against the world. Against her.

She swallowed, remembering the many times they had laughed together, held each other to make the other one feel better. The times she had sat him and called him a jerk. The times he had called her a bitch and left to find Kikyo. And the times when he had made her laugh and held her and protected her. The times when she had cursed him and realized just how much she loved him, and the times when she had smiled at him and giggled as he blushed.

Kagome couldn't help it. Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks and she felt her arms collapsed under her, sending her to hug his chest.

InuYasha stirred beneath her, a hoarse laugh escaping his now crimson lips. Crimson, because blood slowly seeped out of the side of him mouth.

"Keh… I told ya not to cry baka… There's no reason to cry! And you know how much I hate it to see you, or any other woman for that matter cry. But I REALLY don't like to see you show tears…"

She pulled away, looking him in the eye. Shaking her head, she swallowed the lump in her throat. It wouldn't let her talk. Wouldn't let her tell him how sorry she was for causing so much pain and grief and for sitting him all those times. Wouldn't… wouldn't… wouldn't let her tell him how much he meant to her and how much she loved him.

"InuYasha, I-" she began, but he placed a clawed finger on her lips, silencing her. Smiling grimly, he said in a soft, strained voice, "You don't really need to say anything. You always knew your emotions showed right there in your eyes."

Her breathing stopped as he kissed her softly, his lips warm and his blood sticky. She started against his lips but leaned forward, showing how much she loved him right then and there.

He leaned back down, his breathing ragged and harsh to Kagome's ears. "InuYasha, please… don't go…"

She blinked away tears and InuYasha wiped one single tear from her cheek, his hand staying there for a moment. "I… won't ever go… no matter how many times…. you sit me… I promised I'd…" He swallowed, his voice becoming shallower and smaller. "I'd protect you… and I plan on… doing just that… one way or another."

Kagome smiled softly against his hand. But, soon, the light in his eyes slowly dimmed and his last breath slowly rattled from his broken lungs. His head fell back and his hand went limp against Kagome's cheek, falling back to its owner's side.

"No… InuYasha," she whispered, bending over him. His eyes were now closed as if in a final, and never ending, peace. "INUYASHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" she screamed, tears spilling over and cascading down her cheeks, now that InuYasha wasn't there to scold her for crying.

How ironic that, at one point in Kagome's life, she wouldn't have really felt all that bad over the hanyou's death. At one point in her life, she would've sulked in her room for a couple of days, unnerved at seeing a person's life taken from them right before her eyes. At one point in her life, after a while, she wouldn't have care.

But that was at one point in her life. And this… this agony Kagome was feeling where she was positive her heart should've been… this was now…

Miroku held a crying Sango, his hand in a half praying form as Sango clutched at him. Kirara was mewing pitifully, tears slipping from her eyes. Shippo was wailing from a corner, crying, "BAKA!!!! BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA!!!!! INUYASHA NO BAKA!!!! HE KNEW HOW BAD WE'D FEEL AND YET HE STILL LEFT US!!!!!"

That day would haunt all of them forever…

* * *

Kagome yawned from her room, staring sadly out the window down at the lawn. It had been eight months since InuYasha passed away. She looked sadly at the string of beads lying beside her bed. Tears pricked her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. Then she looked at her desk. There was a picture, framed beautifully on the smooth wooden top. It showed the group, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, Kagome and… InuYasha, all standing there, all happy… All alive.

She stood and swallowed. It was the weekend. Kagome's birthday was tomorrow, but she didn't really want to celebrate. Whenever she'd pass the well, she'd remember it as the day she'd first met InuYasha…

All roads seemed to lead to InuYasha…

'_Ok, there you go!_' her mind cried at her. '_It's been eight months!!!! He wouldn't want you acting like this! He'd tell you that you were acting like a baby and not to feel so sad over him!_'

She nodded, finding new hope in this. But still, she felt like a shadow of the woman she once had been.

"Kagome, can you come down stairs for a moment!?" her mother asked, calling up the stairs to her.

"Ok, just a second!" she screamed back, coming to her mother, jii-chan, and little brother. She swept her eyes over to her mom and her brain registered everything in the room. T.V., Sota, Jii-chan, a dog, her mom, the couch, the- Wait what?

Kagome started and stared at the dog. Long silver fur swayed as the dog stood up, his tail whapping against the carpet. Large amber eyes stared back at her and Kagome arched an eyebrow at her mother. "Mama…?"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled sweetly and bent down, petting the dog's head. "Kagome, he's a stray without a name. He's had his shots and everything, though he has somehow escaped the doctor on neutering…" Her voice trailed off but she started up again, cheerful as ever. "And you seemed like you needed a companion! AND you get to name him!"

Kagome stared from her mom, to the dog, and back again. "But… what about Buyo?" she asked, fearing that this dog might hurt the poor fat feline.

Her mother waved her hand. "Oh, he's just fine with Buyo. As soon as we brought him in, he began to play with Buyo, tossing him onto his back and tugging on his ears and tail… but no serious damage," she added at her daughter's frightened look.

Kagome nodded. "Well then…" she said softly, crossing the room and bending down the pet the dog. He seemed to smirk at her and lunged forward, tackling Kagome and throwing her to the ground. Kagome cried out in pain as her head connected with the floor with a rather nasty _snap_, and the dog recoiled, a look of hurt and slight fear flashing in his eyes.

She sat up, rubbing the back of her head gingerly and taking slow deep breaths. A small headache was growing in the back of her skull, but she couldn't really blame the dog; he had, after all, looked like he hadn't meant to and even looked concerned for her. That was, of course, before he seemed to hide it by sticking his muzzle up into the air and looking away from her, yet keeping a glimmering amber orb still on the young woman.

Smiling, Kagome shook her free hand, waving it to keep her family members from descending upon her like a flock of birds. "I'm fine, really, I am," she said, her smile widening to trick her family members into believing her. And, anyways, she had faced MUCH worse than a migraine!

Her mother still looked doubtful, and watched the dog with a new, less fond eye, but Kagome had begun to pet his head, smiling at the happy expression now consuming his face. Then, her hands moved to the ears and she rubbed them, loving how much it felt like rubbing InuYasha's ears.

The dog started and looked at her sadly, but a small spark of happiness was kindled in his amber eyes.

Standing, Kagome dusting off her pajama pants and turned to her mom, still smiling. "Mama, can I wait to name the dog so I can find something that really suits him?" she asked, her smile widening at the idea of some really awesome names, and some really funny!

Her mother nodded, her light brown eyes sparkling happily, and said, "Why, of course dear! You just name him what you feel is right!"

Kagome looked down at the dog and scratched him behind the ears for a second before bolting upstairs, the dog right at her heels. "Arigato, Mama!" she called back before disappearing.

She reached her room and opened the door, letting the dog in, before closing it behind her. The jingle of beads made her turn her head sharply and gasp, her eyes widening.

The dog had InuYasha's old beads in his mouth!!!!

"No!" she cried, launching herself at the dog and bending down right in front of him. "Don't… Please…" Her words were wasted on the dog, which began back away.

Then, it did the weirdest thing… It threw the beads over its head, and it looked incredibly like he was trying to get it on. Sighing, Kagome extended a hand and took the beads from him. "Let me," she said softly, placing them over his muzzle and down so that they rested against his shimmering silver fur coat. "There we go… You look great now!!!" she said, smiling, even if a small bit of guilt tugged at her heart strings. She had just given InuYasha's Beads of Subjugation to a DOG!!! What was she? Replacing him?

Shaking her head, she dismissed the idea and stood up, a smile crossing her face. "So, you mangy mutt," she said playfully, though she could've sworn the dog sent her a VERY annoyed look at the name. "What should I name you?"

The dog looked around the room wildly, looking from one thing to another, as if searching for something. Finally, he found it.

Jumping across the room, he placed his paws against the chair which stayed form (hallelujah carpets!!!!), and pointed his nose at the group picture Kagome had on her desk. Crossing the room, she bent and looked at it.

Blinking, she decided to see if this dog was just playing with her, or really wanted to be named a certain somebody from the picture.

"You want to be named Shippo?" She could've sworn the dog even 'keh'ed, and it sounded VERY much like InuYasha's. Either way, it was obvious from the look he was giving her that it was a no. "Ah… then… Miroku?" Vigorous shaking of the head at this one and a steely glare that said, 'Me? That pervert? Hell no! And you call yourself intelligent! Come ON!!!!! This shouldn't be THAT hard here wench!!!' Why it felt so much like InuYasha's glare was beyond Kagome, but she decided to give it a try…

"How 'bout InuYasha?"

Kagome was positive now she had heard a soft sigh of relief and the dog nodded its head, slowly, as if she would misinterpret his nodding as the need of an itch and move onto a new name.

Standing, she placed her hands on her hips and grinned. "Well then, it's settled. InuYasha it is… and it'll sorta be like it's in memory of him…"

Her shoulders slacked and she looked sad all of a sudden. InuYasha flinched and turned towards the door, scratching at it. Kagome nodded and let him out before closing the door and returned to her bed. Small tears dripped down her cheeks and stained the pillow. "Yeah," she whispered softly as sleep began to retake her. "InuYasha… I guess it's for you…"

_(A/N: Anyone see this one comin'? –grinns- Anywho, review and tell me what you think, onegai! )_


	2. Familiar Faces

**Chapter Two**

**Familiar Faces**

Kagome's eyes fluttered open. She looked immediately at her clock. 10:42 AM.

She sighed and slipped out of bed. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way down the stairs and began to make lunch.

Stepping back, Kagome looked at the masterpiece that was to be her lunch: a ham and cheese sandwich! Hey, when you're hungry, you feel like a simple sandwich is as good as a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci!

Smiling, she grabbed a piece of ham and looked around. "InuYasha," she called softly, wishing that the REAL InuYasha would step out and smile at her, though, of course, she ripped her mind away from such a sad subject. "I think I should just call him Inu or just Yasha or something," she growled. Nodding, she called out again. A name popped into her head. As her dog appeared in front of her, she bent and scratched him rigorously on the head before giving him the ham. InuYasha quickly inhaled it within three seconds. "You know what," she said, bending down to stare her dog in the eyes. "How 'bout, instead of InuYasha, I call you Inugin (silver dog). I…" she swallowed and almost felt like she had to explain why. I mean, with that look he was giving her… "I'd feel like I was replacing InuYasha, the original InuYasha… and that's the last thing I want to do…"

She buried her face in Inugin's shoulder. The dog tilted its head and licked her cheek as if to say, 'It's ok. I like the name… not as good as InuYasha but…'

Her smile had fallen, but she fixed it right back up, standing kissing Inugin on the head. "Thanks for understanding…" She gave him another piece of ham and laughed as he inhaled that one too!

* * *

Sitting up in bed, she looked around the room. Her teddy bear eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room slowly, and she slipped out of bed, sprawling on the floor and groaning loudly. "Stupid… legs," she growled, rubbing said legs. They were weak from a good amount of sleep. And for obvious reasons.

She looked up at her alarm clock, squinting through the moonlight at the time. 11:53. Kagome swore softly. "I can't believe Mama didn't wake me up!" she muttered, finally standing, though swaying dangerously.

Opening her door, Kagome walked down stairs, thinking that she'd watch a little bit of T.V., think about what tomorrow was, and about Inugin.

Soon, she stood at the bottom of the stairs, yawning like crazy and stretching one arm into the air, the other covering her mouth. Inugin appeared around a corner and grinned at her. Smirking, she laughed and jerked her head towards the T.V. and said in a happy voice, "Hey, wanna watch some T.V. with me? I can't get back to bed… Been sleeping for to long…"

The dog jumped up and leapt ahead of her, but turned the corner and away into the kitchen. "Hey, Inugin!!!" she cried out after him, running. "The TV's THAT way!"

She skidded to a stop in front of the doorway of the kitchen, fully expecting to see Inugin sitting in front of his new food bowl, whapping his tail against the floor and grinning up at her. What she DIDN'T expect was empty air where Inugin was supposed to be.

"Inu… Inugin?" she asked, looking around the room as she entered. "Oh come on! This isn't funny!"

Sighing, she turned away and looked at the clock. 12:05 AM. Kagome blinked. That late… or early now it was her birthday…?

She gave a little "Oh" of surprise and took a step back. Today she would be turning 18…

Turning around, she called out for Inugin again. Nothing.

Grumbling and cursing the dog slightly, she sat down on the couch, looking around for the remote but not finding it. Shaking her head, her long ebony hair falling over her shoulder, she leaned against the cushions of the couch, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, slowly slipping into her thoughts.

A sound ripped Kagome from her blissful memories and she stood up, her eyes trying desperately to penetrate the darkness. "Oh-ohayoo, go-gozai-zaimasu…" she said in a shaky voice. It was too big to be Sota or Jii-chan, but it certainly didn't look like her mother.

Taking a step back, Kagome longed to have her bow and arrows back. She swallowed and took in the outline of the person; large sleeves, large pants, slacked shoulders, long hair… and dog ears…?

"Inu…" she whispered, her eyes widening and taking a step forward. "InuYasha?"

The person took a step back and Kagome hesitated. But she had to know… she just HAD to know…

Finally, she asked the question that was tearing her insides out and wrenching her heart, her voice firm and full of pain. "InuYasha desu ka, (are you InuYasha?)"

_(A/N: -hits head on keyboard- Sucky sucky sucky chapter, not to mention a REALLY short one, but it gets a lot done, ne? And as to WHY I changed InuYasha's name to Inugin was because it got confusing after a while… something I did NOT foresee!!! )_


	3. … ahem ‘friends’… yeah, right…

**Chapter Three**

… **-ahem- 'friends'… yeah, right…**

_(A/N: -laughs evilly- Oh man… -wipes tear from eye and giggles- The reviews from the last chapter… They were good!!!! I hope this next chapter is better than the last… and trust me… there'll be some REALLY good stuff happenin'!)_

Kagome shot up in bed, a cold sweat trickling down her collar and gasping one name: "InuYasha."

She was surprised at how breathless and frightened her own voice was…

Lifting a trembling hand to her forehead, she wiped away some sweat and quivered slightly, pulling her knees up to her chest and placing her head on them, her shoulders shaking slightly as suppressed sobs broke threw. Had it been a dream? Had it all just been a fucking dream?

Anger slowly engulfed her heart and she felt like screaming to the heavens "DO YOU JUST WANT ME TO LIVE MY LIFE OUT IN NOTHING BUT MISERY!?" But noooooooooo… she could do that… she had guests later on today…

Growling and whipping away a few tears, Kagome quickly got dressed in a baby blue dress, the hem of it coming just above her knees. It had spaghetti straps, so she slipped a white open t-shirt-jacket over it and put on the Shikon no Tama, its beautiful smooth pink surface glittering wonderfully with her clothes. She had worn it once to twice since coming back, but Kagome knew full well how hard it was to keep the stupid gem safe… so she decided she'd wear it a bit more…

Slipping down the stairs, she looked around, seeing nobody, she moved on to the kitchen. Course, she wasn't expecting…

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed her family.

Kagome squealed and half jumped, clutching her chest with stiff frightened fingers. Her blue and white checkered pajamas got entangled with her fingers and she felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Doomo arigato!" she cried, hugging her mom and grinned happily, having finally ripped her fingers from the fabric that was her pajama top.

"Oh, trust me, it was our pleasure!" her mother said happily, pulling away and grinning at her daughter.

Inugin barked as he sat by a wall, grinning up at Kagome, his tongue lolling out comically. Kagome smiled and knelt down beside him, ribbing his neck and laughing. "Did you also plan this, Inugin?" she asked, hugging him and kissing him on the nose. Inugin just barked, quieter than before, and licked her on the cheek.

Laughing, Kagome stood up. Her eyes swept over the small crowd in the kitchen. Her entire family was there! Jii-chan, Sota, her mother, her great-uncle Aguri, plump as always, her aunt Sana, taller than anybody else in the room, her cousins Tsukiko and Tsukika, one with striking bright blue eyes and long blonde hair, the other with short black hair and sparkling brown eyes, and many more.

The day rushed by, and soon, all too soon, the ending of the day came. By that time, Kagome had a couple of new necklaces, a new dress, some new books, and various other objects. Her family and cooed and squealed when Inugin brought her a cherry blossom, smiling up at her. Looking up, she saw Sota and her mother smile at her. No doubt they had taught Inugin to give her the flower. Nevertheless, Kagome pet her dog and gave him a good many kisses in appreciation.

One after one, each family had to leave. Kagome's mother's voice could be heard saying in an ever cheerful and polite tone "Arigato, Jii-chan Naoya." and "Bye bye Tsukiko, Tsukika. Oh, Tsukiko, how is that boy of yours? And your dog? Oh, really? Good! Bye then!"

Soon, only one family was left behind. Kagome's Auntie Juria, her brown hair short and a good size for a woman of her age, Uncle Tom, her brown hair tinged with grey and the end of his eyes crinkled with crow's feet from years of laughing heartily, and their son Daigo, his messy brown hair looking wind blown and large blocky glass falling halfway down his nose, with his friend from America, the most original name ever, Henry.

Henry's looks were even less original than his name. Short blonde hair fell handsomely about his ears and the back of his neck, with sparkling blue eyes and shining white teeth that looked great against his tan skin. Buff arms came from a ripped t-shirt, and shorts showed off nice legs. He wore flip-flop sandals that didn't really look all that bad. Problem was, he looked perfect for the beach in the middle of summer, and it was halfway through fall.

And, for all the world he looked like a very big Ken doll.

A very VERY big Ken doll.

Did I forget to mention he towered over Kagome and her family, especially Jii-chan who was already bent double with age, and Sota, who was just beginning to reach double digits.

Kagome smiled at them, playing unconsciously with the Shikon no Tama, still resting around her neck. Inugin pressed his side against her leg, his back into her hip. It felt… comforting to have him there…

Swallowing, she jumped when Mrs. Higurashi placed her hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Since Juria, Tom, and Daigo live in America, they're going to be staying here for a while. Henry will be moving to Japan not to long into the future, so they brought him along so he could find a nice home. Hopefully he can become a friend of the family."

Kagome just nodded dimly. She didn't like the idea of Henry in the house, though she couldn't figure out why…

Henry took a step foreword, to close for Kagome's taste, and extended a hand right into her bubble space. Kagome, from a small class she had taken not to long ago, knew that it wasn't normal for Westerners to be that close up when just shaking hands…

"Konban wa, Kagome-san," he said in a rather… drawling voice. Kagome longed to cringe, but not only would she not be disrespectful to a stranger, but she wouldn't show any weakness. From her years in the Sengoku Jidai, Kagome had learned not to show something that made her uncomfortable; incase they became enemies later, they could use things like that against you. "Henry desu."

She took a gentle step back and bowed respectfully, but not low enough to make him her superior. Kagome had a bad feeling about this guy… a REALLY bad feeling… '_But hopefully I'm just being paranoid…_' she thought.

"As you know, I'm Kagome," she said, smiling. '_I need to get outa here!_' she thought, taking another step back and towards the stairs. Opening her mouth, she said in a soft respectful voice"Shitsuree shimasu (lit., Excuse me)."

Turning, Kagome fled upstairs. Inugin stayed downstairs, eyeing Henry with a very disapproving eye. Snorting, he turned and stalked not to far away; to the foot of the stairs that led to Kagome's room, his golden eyes flashing, daring Henry to just TRY and follow her.

* * *

Kagome's brown eyes fluttered open, still half closed. They lazily moved to her alarm clock and squinted at it. 12:48.

Swearing softly, she began to turn over, but the rustling of clothes made her freeze. Raising her frightened eyes which were now stretched wide out of fright, all trace of sleep gone.

"He-hello?" she asked in a soft voice, hating how it quivered.

A crouched figure also froze over her desk, the moonlight falling just inches from it.

The person stood and slowly turned around fixed with a firm yet gentle glance. Kagome started as amber eyes flashed in the moonlight, and the though of InuYasha standing there in her room came clawing its way into her mind.

'_Don't be stupid!_' she scolded herself, looking desperately for something that could help her against this strange intruder. '_InuYasha is… is… He isn't here! And if he was, why would he be in the shadows like-_'

Her hand shot forward into the moonlight, reached for a large hard back book from the America and Europe called 'The Amulet of Samarkand', hoping that she could either throw it at the intruder or bash him over the head (both sounded rather appeasing if truth be told…) _(A/N: But pen work just as well when you stab people in the stomach… I should know… Chas and I make bad habits of it… and its fun to watch people squirm… -sees reader's disturbed/annoyed/pissed off expressions and cringes- Shutting up now…)_, but a hand gripped her's firmly.

A clawed hand.

_(A/N: I could stop here ya know… and get SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many pissed off reviews, it wouldn't even be funny… Well, actually, it would be but… -giggles- Should I? Yeah, I think I- -random reviewer begins to strangle Kikyo Hater- GAH! –gasp- Can't… breathe… -cough choke splutter- FINE! I'll include the other one in here…-grumbles and continues to type-)_

Kagome's breath caught in her throat. It constricted painfully as she stared into the amber eyes of the still unknown person, but Kagome had a VERY strong feeling she knew exactly who the hell was standing in front of her…

Slipping out of bed, the man's hand still clamped firmly onto her's, she slowly turned her arm in his grip, which loosened so as not to hurt her. Kagome's fingers wound their way into the deep red fur of a well known haori, and she gripped and pulled the person forward.

_(A/N: THE END!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA… -ahem- I could stop here too! –looks up at the mob of angry reviewers and cringes again- Right… shutting up for a good while here now… Read on!_

InuYasha stumbled forward into the pool of moonlight, his silver hair falling about him and his golden honeyed eyes shining through his deep bangs.

Kagome gasped slightly and let go. She had been expecting this, true, but to actually see him, standing there, breathing slowly and watching her every movement like that…

"Inu… InuYasha," she whispered, tears pricking in her eyes. This had to be a dream… this just had to…

His furry dog ears twitched atop his head at his name. Swallowing, he nodded. "Kagome, I-"

The distance between them was closed as Kagome launched herself into his arms, sobbing hysterically and clutching at him as though he'd disappear if she didn't hold onto him.

She felt InuYasha start against her, but soon a clawed hand came up and began to stroke her hair, the other holding her back as her tears seeped into his haori.

Finally lifting her tear stained face to him, she whispered, "Is this real? Is it not just a dream? Is-"

His warm soft lips pressed against hers softly as he kissed her. It was gentle, loving, and yet showed how much he loved her. Closing her eyes, Kagome returned it, leaning forward into him.

Pulling away, InuYasha held her close to him, his arms encircling her tightly and squeezing her against him. "Even if it is… then let's just spend what time we have together…"

Kagome stifled a sob and slipped her arms behind him to also hold him close. She closed her eyes and breathed him in. He smelled of trees, cherry blossoms, the wind, and fresh grass. Behind her head, she could hear InuYasha take in a deep breath and smiled. He must have missed her scent. Kagome wondered what she smelled like, but that thought was driven out of her mind as she closed her eyes and just leaned against him.

But, of course, all wonderful things must come to an end, and this was no exception, no matter how much Kagome wished it was.

InuYasha pulled away and placed one last desperate kiss on her lips before springing to the window. Kagome just stood there, staring at his silhouetted form and swaying slightly.

He turned back towards him, his eyes full of sadness, love, and an unreadable emotion.

Taking a step forward, Kagome stretched a hand out towards him, holding back more tears. He'd have to go? And so soon?

Swallowing, he whispered, "Happy birthday, Kagome." And he was gone.

Rushing to the window, Kagome watched him sprint across the quart yard and into the forest. She waited there and could've sworn she saw some lights flicker in there, but thought nothing of it.

Breathing in the night air, she closed her window and sank back onto her bed. Only then did Kagome realize that she was shaking.

She brought a trembling hand to her lips, the fingers touching where InuYasha's lips had been only moments before. She could still feel him, kissing her with a gentleness Kagome was positive she'd never feel again. A gentleness she knew she'd never feel again unless it was from InuYasha.

Taking a shuddering breath, she slipped back into bed, looking quickly at the alarm clock. 1:23 AM.

'_Right,_' she thought, cuddling under her covers and closing her eyes, her lashes pressing gently against her cheeks. '_Somewhere up there, somebody REALLY doesn't want me to be happy with me remembering InuYasha all the time and stuff…_'

_(A/N: HA! IT'S FINALLY FINISHED! The chapter, not the story… I swear… Please, review!)_


	4. Rise and SHIIIINE! PERVERT smack

**Chapter Four**

**Rise and SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!! ... PERVERT! -smack-  
**

"Honey, it's time to get up! Breakfast is ready and everybody except for Henry-san is leaving! You want to say good-bye, don't you?"

Kagome yawned and sat up, nodding slowly. Last night's dream had… unnerved her.

When her mother left, Kagome rushed to her desk and found a perfect cherry blossom. She felt her cheeks flush and she sat down on her bed, staring at it with watery eyes. Had… had it really been a dream or had InuYasha…

"Don't be stupid, Kagome!" she told herself, setting the blossom down and getting undressed. "People don't come back from the dead, no matter how much you want them to…"

"Talking to yourself, eh?" came a slightly drawling voice from behind her.

Kagome squealed and covered herself, pulling her shirt, which she had just opened, closed in a flash.

Whirling around, she glared daggers at Henry who was leaning against the doorway, watching her with the side of his mouth curled up into a smirk. He continued as if nothing had happened. "People will begin to think you're insane. I mean-"

"OUT!" Kagome demanded, keeping her shirt closed with one hand and the other pointing out the door. "OUT! NOW!"

"Ooooooh," Henry said, faking quivering, his hands shaking slightly as he held them up. "I'm REALLY frightened." The sarcasm was dripping off of his voice and pooling on the floor and staining the carpet.

"IF YOU DON'T GET OUT, I'LL MAKE YOU FRIGHTENED!" Kagome screamed, pushing him out the door and shutting it tight, sticking a chair under the door handle.

Henry grinned and turned to leave and go back to the kitchen, but Inugin sat there, one lip curled as a rather nasty growl slowly slipped out. Henry's grin fell. "Oh dear…"

* * *

Kagome emerged from her bedroom, and, not meeting a blood scene of death, gore, and Inugin sitting happily above Henry's slightly twitching body, blood covering him, his tail wagging happily (even if the writer wishes desperately that that was what she had found, even if it would scar her for life… it would get rid of Henry…), she found Henry keeping Inugin at bay using a chair. 

Inugin advanced, a snarl slowly growling larger and louder. Henry looked up and called to Kagome. "Hey, hey, can I use some help here!?"

Kagome quirked an eyebrow and turned away. Smiling at Inugin, she gave the dog a rub on the head and said in a soft voice that nevertheless carried quite easily to Henry, "Good boy!"

Henry's mouth dropped. Never before had a girl been so… so… They usually gawked at him, slightly drooling.

Sighing, Kagome stood and shook her head at Henry. "Inugin's never been angry at anybody before… what did you do?" Her voice was cheery, happy… almost as if they were talking about Christmas.

"I… I…" he stuttered, staring at her, his eyes roaming over her body, stopping in a few… -ahem- less savory places. Kagome was wearing her new mini skirt and a low tank-top with a nice jacket over it (she planned on going with Eri, Yuki, and Ayumi to the mall later, and wanted to show off what presents she had gotten for her birthday). She looked VERY nice.

Blushing, Kagome took a step back. Then, the blush turned red and her eyes turned to fire. "Excuse me!" she managed to growl. Henry's eyes snapped up and he cringed. Baby… "Eyes up, and I say I should just let Inugin EAT you!" Her hands were clenched at her sides, one around Inugin's collar (just incase he ever got lost) as the dog lunged forward, trying desperately to kill the human in front of him, and one gripping a cherry blossom.

Whirling around, Kagome stomped off, calling over her shoulder, "Its ok Inugin… You can get him later…"

Inugin stood back reluctantly, his growl growing louder as Henry inched by. He snapped at the boy who took off, Inugin chasing him from Kagome's bedroom.

* * *

Sighing, Kagome sank down at the table, tucking the cherry blossom behind her ear and entangling it in a curve of her hair. 

Smiling, she accepted some scrambled eggs and ate quietly, not looking at a disheveled Henry but instead petting a panting Inugin, who leaned against her, his head on his paws, golden eyes fixed on Henry.

This was going to be a long day…

_(I know, I know, also short, but I'm writing an extra fluff-tastic chapter for Christmas, so bear with me… But what about Henry, eh? What a scum bag! He's a douche bag! HE'S A BAG OF DOUCHE!!! -ahem- Dane Cook joke... AAAAAAAAAND, was that cherry blossom from InuYasha? Maaaaaaaaaaaybe...)_


	5. Christmas Eve

**Chapter Five**

**Christmas Eve**

A couple of months had passed and it was finally winter break.

Kagome looked up at the tree, a smile growling on her pink lips. It was Christmas Eve and she already had to keep Sota from ripping at his presents. Annoying little bugger couldn't wait ONE day! ONE measly day for pity's sake!

Sighing, Kagome watched Buyo bat at a very delicate ornament. She smiled and bent down, taking it off of the lower branches of the tree and placing them at the top, having to lean forward and into the tree on the tips of her toes to reach it.

Leaning away, she tripped over Buyo and fell backwards, her eyes stretched wide in surprise. A small gasp escaped her as she fell, but she landed on something soft, not the hard wood floors her family had.

Looking around, she saw Inugin smile at her. She had landed on him, and he didn't look at all angry.

"Oh, Inugin!" she cried, hugging the dog around the neck and giggling. "Good boy! Did you stop my fall?"

A snort came from the corner of the room and Kagome looked up angrily, standing and breathing heavily.

Henry stood there, his arms folded across his chest and his blond eyebrow raised. He was SO annoying! Things had gone from bad to worse with him! He had begun to touch her, though luckily not in the places Miroku had… _(-shiver-)_, but on the arm, and he HAD tried some Miroku moves, but Kagome was used to them and had… _(-ahem-)_, 'intercepted' them, intercepting meaning hitting him over the head and letting Inugin chew on him for a few moments before letting him go… and he had begun to flirt shamelessly with her and had tried to kiss her every now and then. Kagome was beginning to get fed up, but she couldn't get a moment alone! They were renting a room out to him. The only reason Kagome didn't demand that her mother kick him out was because he hadn't really DONE anything besides make her uncomfortable, and they needed the money; Jii-chan was spending a little too much on useless charms, and some were un-returnable, and Sota was going to need a Kimono soon.

She groaned as he opened his mouth again. '_Here it comes…_'

"Why don't you just get rid of that mutt?" he asked, his voice more drawling and annoying than usual. "I mean, all he does is annoy everyone and eat! Why keep something like that around?"

Standing, Kagome eyed him coolly. "A, what I do with Inugin is NOT your concern or your choice, B, Inugin protects me from the likes of YOU, C, I like Inugin; he's my friend. And D, he only annoys you. Everybody else loves him, and for good reason! Did I answer your questions?"

She smirked for a moment before her face fell back into its 'glare mode' again.

Henry smiled evilly again and strode towards her, pulling her towards him. Leaning forward, he whispered, "But why should you want to be away from the 'likes of me'?" His lips parted and he closed his eyes, diving in for the kill.

Kagome kicked him in the groin, making him double over painfully. She knelt by him and hissed in a mock version of his voice, "Because if he doesn't keep you away from me, I might do worse…" before standing and walking away, muttering, "Your turn, Inugin."

The dog appeared to smile, obviously thinking, _'Ooooooooooh… this'll be fun...'  
_

* * *

A muffled sound awoke Kagome. She sat up straight, hoping to see InuYasha like when he had appeared on her birthday, but only empty air lingered there… He hadn't shown up since her birthday, and Kagome was seriously beginning to wonder whether it had really only been a dream or not… 

Sighing, she slipped out of bed, stories of Santa Clause and stuff, running through her head. She couldn't help it, really she couldn't! The stories she had been told as a child, and the delight she had felt every year at this time, wondering if he really was real or not, would always make her heart skip a beat.

When Christmas had rolled around in the Sengoku Jidai, InuYasha had declared at Santa was a demon, and his 'raindoors' were also yokai, and that they should find him and keep him "the hell away from Kagome, damnit"!

She stifled a giggle at the memory and shook her head. Memories of InuYasha no longer made her sad, but happy. It was odd…

Kagome was at the bottom of the stairs, her dark brown eyes trying to peer through the darkness. "Hello?" she called uncertainly. "Mama? Sota? Jii-chan?"

Sighing, she sat down by what looked like another cherry blossom. InuYasha popped into her head and she blushed.

Picking it up, she smelled it, taking in its soft aroma. '_Could… could it REALLY be him?_' she thought. '_Alive?_'

But, things aren't always as they seem.

Turning around, she let out a muffled cry as Henry grabbed her by her wrists. His face was contorted and it frightened Kagome at how it looked. The usual perfect replica of Ken looked just as scary as Naraku, though here, it was all in the eyes.

"Ah, I see that curiosity killed the cat," he murmured in her ear. Kagome struggled against him, hissing, "This isn't funny! Let me go! Don't make me wake up my family…"

Tears slipped out of Kagome's eyes, frightened at what he might do to her. Rape came to mind, but if he was willing to do that, then she'd be able to scream and wake her family. No… it'd have to be a bit more-

She started against him as he kissed her, his tongue slowly forcing its way into her mouth.

A small part of Kagome enjoyed the kiss, passionate as it was. But it was a very small part. The rest of Kagome was screaming at her to kick him in the groin until he was permanently neutered!

She pulled away and fell back, but Henry caught her. Kagome was panting heavily, glaring up into his eyes. "You… you…" Her voice was shaky, and low, ice forming on the edges.

Kagome took a step away from Henry, finally finding her voice. "Don't you DARE do that again," she growled, clenching her fists. "I only want to be kissed by one guy, and one guy alone. And it isn't you." She was trying desperately hard to not call for her family.

Henry's eyes narrowed. "Oh, and who is it?" he asked, sneering dangerously, moving forward and grabbing her wrist in a fist of steal, making her wince and draw her breath through her teeth to keep from crying out. "Is it one of the guys from that picture you have on your desk? That hoshi, perhaps? Or the stupid looking guy with the dog ears?"

Kagome's jaw dropped open and she took a step back, ripping her wrist from Henry's grasp. "You… I… My… How DARE you!" she finally managed to hiss through clenched teeth. "My room was always off limits! And…"

He took another step forward.

She took another step back.

Henry scowled and growled, "Listen Kagome. I REALLY like you and-"

"Yeah well," Kagome growled, letting all the feelings she had been keeping under for the past few months explode. "I don't like you! I hardly even TOLERATE you! You touch me, you try to kiss me, you ask me out, AND you frighten me half to death, finally kiss me, and hurt my wrist!"

Her voice was rising slightly and she had to keep it in check to keep it down. "I. Do. Not. Like. You. I like somebody else."

The look on Henry's face could curdle new milk…

"Who," he asked, putting his hands on his hips in a girlish fashion. "Who do you like more than me?"

Kagome had to suppress a growl. "I like EVERYBODY more than you! I liked Naraku better than you! I liked TSUBAKI better than you! And she tried to put a curse on me!" She raised her hands in the air to further prove her point of how much she LOATHED him.

Henry ignored the names and just snorted. He lunged forward and gripped Kagome by the throat, driving her into the wall.She gasped for air, her hands gripping his wrist in an effort to pull herself up and breathe a bit more easily. No good. Just choking and spluttering. '_Is this it?_' she thought desperately, blinking back tears. '_Is this how I'm going to die, being strangled by an over sized DOLL!?_'

"Listen here," Henry hissed in her ear. He was insane… seriously insane. "I like you. You will like me, whether you want to or not. Unless, of course, you'd like not to see Christmas morning…"

A maniacal grin spread across his face and his left eye twitched. Ew.

"Or," whispered another, very familiar, voice, full of anger and a bit of hate. "You could let go of Kagome, let her breathe, and let me kill you."

Henry was ripped off of Kagome who fell to her knees, coughing, the tears she had been keeping back slowly slipping out of the corner of her eyes. She looked up quickly and saw a large form standing protectively in front of her. Two dog ears twitched on top of his head.

"Inu… InuYasha?" she rasped, her throat sore from the choking.

He whirled around, a look of concern in his eyes. Kagome cried out his name again and hugged him holding onto his haori as her knees buckled beneath her. "I was so scared…" she whispered.

InuYasha's arms wrapped comfortingly around her back and hugged her close. "It's ok, Kagome," he whispered into her ear. "I'm here."

Nodding, Kagome pulled away from him and stood up. Henry was beginning to stand to his feet, sending InuYasha and Kagome deadly glares.

Pointing a quivering finger at the door, Kagome hissed, "Get out. I'll pay for the month. Just get out." Her mother would understand, and Kagome didn't think she could be in the same room with a man who was worse than most yokai she had managed to stumble across.

Henry stood and opened his mouth to shout back that he wouldn't, but InuYasha rose up behind Kagome, cracking his knuckles and baring his fangs threateningly.

He was smarter than he looked and chose the safest way out; by door.

When he was finally gone, Kagome felt the strength sucked right back out of her legs. It had been a long night… a very long night…

InuYasha caught her and she smiled up at him. Her fingers still clutched the cherry blossom, but she let it go, leaning forward and kissing him. InuYasha smiled softly and kissed her back, pulling away and opening his eyes.

"Kagome," he whispered, his eyes shooting from one eye to the other, taking in her entire face and moving from her eyes to her lips, all in fluid movements. "The guy you and that… that…" He didn't seem able to come up with a bad enough name for Henry, so he just continued, a desperate need to know fueling him. "The guy that you told... _him_... Is the guy that you really like somebody at your school, because if he is then just tell me and I swear I can just leave and-"

Kagome leaned up and captured his lips in another kiss, silencing him. Falling back, she smiled and whispered, "The guy I was talking about was you, baka."

He smiled and they moved together, kissing each other with gentleness, but a passion Henry could only dream of kissing Kagome with.

Soon, they found themselves huddled up by the Christmas tree, gazing up at it. Kagome leaned comfortably against his chest and closed her eyes. "Merry Christmas, InuYasha," she whispered before falling into a content sleep.

InuYasha smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze with him arms which were wrapped around her. "Merry Christmas Kagome."

_(A/N: Kagome was a little OC in this chapter, but don't forget, she's growing up. The Kagome at the end of the series is hardly the Kagome at the beginning, so it makes sense for her to be slightly different here too… And it's finally nice and long so…_

_Oh, and Merry Christmas, everybody! -giggles- You guys must hate me now… Well... either hate me or love me... Your choice...)_


	6. Cat and Mouse

**Chapter Six**

**Cat and Mouse**

Kagome sighed and tapped her pencil against the desk, not listening to the boring lecture about the Sengoku Jidai… She had been there when Bankotsu had died… and that just so happened to be the part they were studying… '_Great…_'

"Higurashi!"

She jumped at ripped her eyes from the window which was splattered with rain drops and towards her teacher who gazed at her with a very… 'displeased' eye, as Miroku might've so elegantly put it.

"Higurashi-san, since you seem to not feel the need to know about a 'rag tag' group of bandits, perhaps you could tell us how this 'Band of Seven' died?"

Kagome stood up, biting down a smirk. She didn't smirk, but if she did, one would be happily plastered all over her face by now…

"The Band of Seven was destroyed when the Shoguns made a truce. They Band of Seven had become stronger than the noblemen, and the noblemen feared them because of this. So, after the bandits destroyed a kingdom, many groups of Samurai surrounded them and they were executed."

It was seriously hard not to even smile…

The teacher raised an eyebrow but, even though the old woman was trying not to be, she was impressed.

Clearing her throat, she decided to test Kagome with a so called myth…

"And what, as it is said in myths and legends, happened to them afterward…?"

Kagome had to bite down a giggle.

"They were revived by an evil hanyou using shards from the Shikon no Tama, and tried to get them to kill another hanyou and his friends who were trying to kill the first one. But, the plan failed miserably. Each one was killed off, the Shikon no Kakera taken from their corpses, and returned to the evil hanyou. The leader, Bankotsu, was the last to die after killing one of his 'brother's, Renkotsu, who had betrayed him and had killed Jakotsu, a close friend within the Shichinintai. Bankotsu was killed by the good hanyou. And that's the last you ever hear about the Band of Seven."

She made to sit down but somebody in the back of the class shouted, "But what were all of their names?"

Kagome looked at the teacher who nodded. "For extra credit, Higurashi…"

Taking a deep breath, Kagome began. "Kyokotsu, Mukotsu, Ginkotsu, Suikotsu, Jakotsu, Renkotsu, and Bankotsu."

She was finally allowed to sit down and began staring out the window again, annoyed at having to do that useless… Ah well… life was about to get much worse. It was raining, and Kagome had to walk home. And, of course, it didn't help that she hadn't seen Inugin for the past week, and that Henry had been showing up more and more lately…

Let us see… Having to walk home through the rain+ no Inugin at home to cheer her up+ stalker Henry + Hojo and her friends STILL trying to get them together a very pissed off and distracted Kagome… Ah, math. Don't ya just love it…?

The bell rang and everybody stood up. Kagome waited until everybody was out until she finally moved. Grabbing her bag, she left.

* * *

The rain hit against the poor girl's back as she trudged outside, glaring at nothing, but it was a glare nonetheless… One that could make paint peel off of a fence post. 

Muttering rather untypeable phrases and swear words (many she had picked up from InuYasha, and one or two from Miroku and exactly five from Shippo), she stumbled and almost fell. A strong hand caught her and she jumped, whirling around to look into the unforgiving eyes of Henry.

Screaming, she pulled away from him, tumbling to the side and scooting away until she felt an alleyway wall press up against her back. And this time, there was no InuYasha to suddenly appear and protect her.

Staring fearfully into those heartless grey eyes of his, Kagome swallowed bile that threatened to rise and had even begun to. This was not good….

He snorted and took a step towards her. Kagome scooted farther backwards, narrowing her eyes at him. Henry stopped and growled, his eyes flashing red for a moment. Kagome jumped. Red… Red was always a sign of a yokai. And yokai couldn't take mikos…

She jumped and was ripped out of her musings as a hand, fist pushing into the bricks, landed dangerously close to her face. Henry's own face was only centimeters away.

"So," he whispered, his warm breath tickling against Kagome's neck as he looked her up and down. She grew very uncomfortable under his gaze. "So… Looks like I've finally caught the little mouse that has been scuttling away and hiding from me all this time…"

His lips grazed hers and she shivered, feeling like vomiting. But…

Her miko powers pulsed slightly through her palms. Smiling she whispered back, "I haven't beet scuttling… nor am I a mouse…"

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she closed her eyes and pushed, not only with her arms, but also with her mind, pushing her miko powers out at the unfortunate man.

Henry shot away, hitting the other wall and skidding down to the ground. Kagome watched as he tried to stand but stumbled to his knees. She took this opportunity to run.

Skidding around the corner, Kagome saw the shrine appear in the distance. Hopefully she'd be able to get home and-

Someone bowled into her, knocking her to the ground, the skin on her knees and right palm ripping and blood turning the rainwater crimson.

"Oh, not so fast my dear little girl," hissed a voice in her ear and Kagome had to suppress a shiver from it. "You see, though you may not be a mouse, I, most certainly, am a rat… and though most rats wouldn't hurt you… I would."

She was pushed onto her back and took the chance to kick him in the stomach. A groan came from somewhere above her and Kagome blinked away the rain that was blinding her.

Something growled dangerously and the weight of Henry's hand pressing her shoulder into cement lifted.

Sitting up, Kagome blinked away the tears of fright and the rain and saw Inugin and Henry wrestling. Looking around wildly, Kagome hissed in frustration. She didn't have her bow and arrows, she didn't have a sword, she didn't have a gun… she didn't have anything that she could use to protect her and Inugin…

'_But,_' a small voice in the back of her head reasoned. '_You used your hands before… why not again?_'

Kagome jumped up and grabbed Henry by the wrist as he pulled his hand back to deliver a painful hit to Inugin. "Hurt my dog," Kagome hissed through clenched teeth as her right palm pulsed painfully, signaling it was ready to deliver a strong dose of purification power to the mad man. "And die."

She sent a strong pulse through Henry, making him cry out in terror and pull away. But Kagome held on tighter and sent a stronger pulse of purification power through him. Henry cried out again and raised his hand to slap Kagome away from him. She closed her eyes and sent one last pulse, stronger than the rest, through him. Henry gave one last shivering cry before slapping Kagome to the cement and making a break for it.

Inugin chased him for a few feet before returning to Kagome and bending over her. Henry's nails had dug into her skin in the slap and her cheek had begun to bleed. He licked her cheek and laid his head on her chest, staring at her with those forever familiar golden eyes. Kagome smiled weakly at him. What had worn her out had hardly been the slap or the holding onto Henry. No. She had survived Naraku for Kami's sake! It had been using her miko powers that had so worn her out.

She patted the top of Inugin's head and began to rub his ears. The dog half purred, half growled, throwing her a look that said, _"Now really isn't the time… no matter how good that feels…"_

Kagome laughed slightly and nodded, her hand falling limply and the world turning back. She had fainted.

_(A/N: Oh ho! I told ya it was drama… and Goddamnit, it's gonna be drama! It's gonna be –throws hands and does a stage move- MELODRAMATIC!!!! Sadly, this is the truth. My story will have to take a melodramatic turn soon…Don't ya just hate it when you HAVE to resort to melodramatics? –le sigh- Buuuuuuuuuuut… it's gonna be good… ;)_

_Oh, and I could've stopped here ya know…)_

* * *

Kagome wearily blinked her eyes open. The light was too bright… it really was. 

Groaning, she rubbed her eyes. Her breath hitched and she covered her mouth. Kagome was positive she was going to puke…

Sitting up, a wave of light-headedness washed over her and she fell back onto her pink covers. Wait… HER pink covers?

Looking around the room wearily, she took in everything; her desk, her carpet, her beside table, her bed, her door, the door that led to the bathroom…

A small whine came from her side and she looked up into the amber eyes of Inugin, his silver fur framing the eyes perfectly.

Smiling, she raised a hand that seemed to be a bit heavy, and pet him. "Arigato… Inugin. You save me…"

She looked at the ceiling, a look of pure internal pain and hopelessness filling her chocolate brown eyes. "Watashi baka datta (I was stupid)… I actually thought I could outrun him… even when I knew he was a yokai… but I think he was once human… I think he sold his soul to a demon and became a hanyou…"

Kagome was rambling by now, having to get everything she knew out into the open and off of her chest. If she didn't, it felt like all of the information she had would suffocate her…

But, though Kagome didn't notice it, Inugin seemed quite interested. He sat there, watching Kagome rant on about how she was positive how he was a hanyou, and listening to every little detail. When Kagome finally quieted down and slipped into a peaceful sleep, Inugin slipped out the door. His canine face looked troubled; as if he had a lot to think about, but it was difficult to think at all…

_(Interesting, ne? All will be revealed as this story is, sadly, drawing to a close. Still, at the least seven chapters ((AT THE LEAST!!!!)), not to mention the epilog… A nice amount, eh? Well, what does Inugin have to think about? To those of you who think Inugin is InuYasha, why didn't Inugin turn into InuYasha and save Kagome when she needed him the most? Things to ponder whilst waiting for Chapter Seven; Phone Calls and Mistakes! See ya soon!_

_The Kikyo Hater!!! ;))_


	7. Phone Calls and Mistakes

**Chapter Seven**

**Phone Calls and Mistakes**

_Kagome was staring at the perfect (so perfect it made you want to barf perfect) mildly preppy blond teacher, her head resting on limp hands. Suddenly she was outside, riding up two very large hills on a floating stool. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered that stools shouldn't be floating. "And two writers will be coming in. One, Zilizoon will be-"_

_The hill was too steep… Kagome's stool was slowly slipping backwards. She clung to the edge of it, but that hardly helped. The stool tumbled backwards and she looked around wildly. Calling out to the teacher, she screamed, "Help! HELP!" The teacher just shrugged and gave an ugly grimace and turned away, continuing what Kagome had interrupted her in. The feeling of falling, nothing there to stop you, and the pure fear engulfing your entire body was…_

Kagome sat up, sweating and breathing heavily. Clutching her pajama shirt where her heart was beating rapidly, she took deep breaths to calm herself.

Pushing her midnight black bangs out of her eyes, she slipped out of bed, her heart still beating a million miles a second, but a bit less so than what it had been doing…

_(A/N: I know, I know, the dream is kinda… random, but I had to post it… that and I couldn't figure out how to start the chapter… In fact, that was a dream I had when I was half asleep, half awake… and I didn't do what Kagome did. I have a bunk bed, so if I had sat up, I would've been knocked out. And my body wouldn't move… Not fun… xx; -le sigh-)_

"Kagome!" her mother called up to her. She jumped down the steps, two at a time, and slid to Mrs. Higurashi's side. Mrs. Higurashi smiled and handed her the phone. "Your friend Yumi-chan's on the phone."

Kagome smiled and grabbed the phone, muttering, "Arigato, mama," before rushing into the living room and saying into the mouth piece, "Konichi wa, Yumi-chan!"

"Konichi w-wa, Ka-Kagome-chan," Yumi said in a stuttering fearful voice. Kagome was suddenly worried. Yumi was no wimp; something had to be wrong.

"Yumi-chan? What's wrong?"

A pause. "Oh, no-nothing's wrong… Just… my-my obaa-san (grandmother) died and we we-were kinda close… But I wa-was wondering if you wanted to come-come over… It'd cheer me up."

Kagome nodded. She had never known her own grandmother, but the idea of her jii-chan dieing made her heart plummet. "Sure! If you want, I can bring Inugin along! He sure cheers you up!"

A giggle reached her from the other end and Kagome smiled, her shoulders slumping as she relaxed them. "Sure! It'll be fun! I mean… Oh, wa-wait, sorry… You can't. My fam-family has a gu-guest over and…" Back with the stuttering… "and he-he's allergic to dogs… Gomen. I've got-got to go… Sayonara!!!" _Click_

Kagome eyed the phone for a moment before dashing back upstairs and quickly changing into her school uniform. Why not? It was the only clean thing that looked good…

Dashing back downstairs, she called, "Mama! I'm going to Yumi-chan's house! See ya soon!"

* * *

Inugin sat by the door, waiting for Kagome to come back home. She had only been gone five minutes before the phone rang again. He lifted his head and raised a silver ear. Mrs. Higurashi picked it up and said in an ever cherry voice, "Moshi moshi." 

He strained his ears and could only just barely hear one of Kagome's friend's voices. It sounded on the verge of tears. "Higurashi-san! Where's Kagome?"

"Yumi? Why… she's going over to your house!"

"Oh no! You need to stop her!"

The color drained from Mrs. Higurashi's face. "What? Why? Is something wrong?"

"That guy, Henry… He threatened me that he'd kill me and my family and everybody close to me if I didn't call Kagome and have her come over! He knocked me out when she said she'd come over and I only just came too! I'm worried something might happen to her!"

Mrs. Higurashi nodded and swallowed. "Ok. I'll call the police. Arigato, Yumi." She hung up the phone and began dialing for the police, her face white as a sheet. Inugin was already out the door, running after Kagome.

* * *

The city bustle was the same as always. Kagome pushed through the crowd, going in the direction Yumi's house. She thought over the phone conversation she had had… It was weird… Yumi was one of the toughest people in Kagome's school… not really all that much physically, but mentally… Kagome didn't know it, but the same was said of her, except that she was also really strong physically due to her years of running and fighting in the Sengoku Jidai. 

Sighing, she rubbed her temples. What was going on? True, she had never met Yumi's grandmother, and true that she could always be really close to people Kagome had never even heard of, but it seemed more than a bit odd that Yumi was affected so, and yet wanted her company.

Kagome stopped short and her brows knit together in thought. She had that feeling that things weren't what they appeared… '_Nah… You're just being… suspicious…_' she thought, continuing on her way. Yeah… that was right… she was just being suspicious… right?

A hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her into an alleyway. She screamed, but it didn't go far. Tokyo's streets were loud, and her scream was already muffled. Fear clutched her heart as she felt something cold and sharp press against her throat as she was pulled farther back into the darkness. Then, somebody pressed the pressure points on the back of her neck and she fainted, welcoming the coolness of the dark.

_(A/N: Once again, I could- -gets attacked by random reviewer- GAH!!!! OK, OK!!! I WON'T! Jeez… Anywho, the story takes a turn for the melodramatics…)_

* * *

Kagome woke up in a cold room. Her hands were tied behind her back, her feet were tied, and she was gagged. Swearing softly, she looked around the room. Sunlight fell through cracks in boards on the windows, and dust partials could be seen through the sunlight. She blinked sleepily, trying to clear her mind. No good. It was as fuzzy as always. 

But then came the voice.

"Comfy, are we?"

She jumped and whirled around, staring into the face of Henry. He was wearing an old white linen shirt and loose jeans. At his hip was a belt with a short sword and a dangerous looking dagger that would've fitted in perfectly with the Sengoku Jidai, and from the characters on the sheath, that it wasn't his. He had probably killed somebody for it…

Snorting, she leaned as far away from him as possible. "What the hell are you doing, and why do you have two blades?" Kagome wanted answers, and the longer he or she talked, the longer she could live.

Henry laughed and stood up straight, looking around the room as if searching for when to begin. "Ah, what am I doing? I'm going to kill you. My thought process is a bit old… you know. Many women have died because the men that desired them couldn't have them… That and it'll help me in the long run…"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. He was right… his thought process was old… People only did that in the middle ages and such… not in modern times. But she had to keep on talking. "Are you a lunatic or something!? How will it help you?"

He turned towards her and smiled evilly. "Oh, it'll help me because, to gain more power than any before me, I have to kill a miko, and if I like the miko, it helps… and since you showed yourself as a miko by trying to purify me… well… When I absorb your body you-"

"HOLD ON!" Kagome screamed. "You say that you found out I'm a miko because I tried to purify you… but then what are you? And absorb my body… what are you, Naraku's reincarnation or something?"

Henry looked at her, one eyebrow scrunching down, the other disappearing into his hair. "Whoever this Naraku guy is, I don't know him. I'm a hanyou. After you kicked me out, I went to find my own apartment and fell down some stairs. True, not to glamorous, but my neck almost snapped. Some demons came and fed themselves onto my soul. And so… here I am."

Kagome sighed and felt like hitting her head on the side of the wall. Good God… how many times did she have to face these very unoriginal lunatics? 'Course, they usually didn't have her tied up…

Pain erupted in her shoulder and she bit her lip, willing herself not to let Henry have the pleasure of hearing her cry out.

"Pay. Attention. To. Me," he growled, as her blood dribbled from the drawn dagger as he held it at her throat again.

"KAGOME!!!" InuYasha's voice screamed.

_(A/N: Hm… shall I end it here? Nah… I'll explain a bit to you guys… THEN I'll end the chapter…)_

* * *

_A few moments before..._

Inugin rounded a corner, looking around desperately for Kagome. He could hear her voice dimly and growled in frustration. Then the smell of her metallic blood reached his nose. '_Oh Kami, no,_' he thought, looking around wildly. Running for a window, he reached out with his paw. But it wasn't a paw anymore. It was a clawed hand. Inugin wasn't a dog anymore. He was InuYasha again.

_(A/N: Ho! Does this explain things? Yes? No? Maybe… Too those of you who realized that Inugin was InuYasha, I need to ask you something… AM I REALLY THAT TRANSPARENT!? –bangs head against wall- It was supposed to be a surprise… Ah well, in the next chapter, InuYasha will explain everything…)_


	8. Bloody Explinations

**Chapter Eight**

**Bloody Explanations**

_(A/N: Ok, I lied… InuYasha won't explain everything…)_

Henry was just as surprised as Kagome to see InuYasha standing there, dust falling gently about him, his Fur of the Fire Rat lit up by the dirty sunlight.

InuYasha's eyes moved from Henry, holding a bloodied knife, to Kagome, tied up and bleeding slightly from her shoulder. A deep and feral growl began to build up in his throat, his golden eyes beginning to bleed red.

He charged forward, but Henry was quicker. Darting to the side, he slashed blindly out. Whether out of sheer dumb luck on Henry's part or because the fact that he was now a hanyou, he managed to slash InuYasha across the side.

Kagome cried out, struggling forward, but immediately pulling back when a full blooded yokai InuYasha turned to glare at her. "Inu… Yash…. a?" she whispered, frightened. He blinked, his red and turquoise orbs never returning to their comforting golden hue.

Henry laughed. "So… a full demon when the need arises, ne?" he asked

InuYasha whipped around and bared his fangs. They glinted eerily in the sunlight. Kagome shivered. This wasn't the InuYasha she loved… she always felt like she was finding it out every time he transformed… and it always frightened her.

He darted forward, his eyes narrowed. Henry dropped the knife and drew his sword, holding it up and towards InuYasha. Kagome's jaw dropped and she leaned forward, screaming his name.

"INUYASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Silence.

His body dropped to the ground and Kagome shook her head. He had taken worse things than this but…

Henry grinned and stepped over InuYasha's unmoving form. "Good thing I put a certain poison on here that stops yokai, or in this case, hanyou.

Kagome turned her furious eyes at him. "You knew he was coming, didn't you?" she hissed, struggling up, but only falling back against the wall. Henry grinned.

"Duh."

"Bastard," she hissed, tears slowly slipping out of Kagome's eyes. "You… bastard…"

He just snorted and leaned against a wall, muttering, "Like I care…"

Kagome was doubled over, silent sobs racking her body. She had lost InuYasha twice in a little over a year; imagine loosing the only person you ever loved more than air itself twice in just over a year. It was hard.

But, behind Kagome's closed eyelids, she saw a bright light, framing Henry's form. His silhouette turned and took a step back, raising an arm to protect his eyes. When it was all over, Kagome opened her eyes and gasped. Inugin and InuYasha lay, side by side, on their stomachs. But what was better, Inugin was stirring, as was InuYasha.

Inugin let out a soft whimper. His coat was now a deep golden color, and when he opened his eyes, they were a nice hazelnut.

InuYasha sat up but flinched, covering the still bleeding wound in his stomach. Then, everything came crashing down about him and he looked up, franticly searching for Kagome. It wasn't long before he found her _(No freakin' duh, InuYasha! You're in a barren abandoned room, that's mildly well lit, and Kagome's tied up, so she shouldn't really be goin' anywhere! IT SHOULDN'T TAKE YOU TOO LONG TO LOCATE HER!!!! … -ahem- Caps moment… anywho…)_. He struggled forward, but fell back when Henry put his blade against Kagome's neck.

"Leave… Leave her alone," InuYasha coughed out, along with a bit of blood.

Kagome shook her head. Was she the only one completely and utterly lost…?

That was it… she needed answers… "Ok, what on earth is going on!?" she all but cried.

_(…Henry will explain it… not InuYasha…)_

Henry turned and fixed Kagome with a smug grin. "Oh, so you still don't know, do you? You see, dog boy over there, had a bit of a curse. That Naraku guy's last present. When or if he was reincarnated, his soul would still have his memories, but he wouldn't be able to tell anybody, even when he was human. He could only become human from midnight to one o'clock in the morning. Another catch… he couldn't wake you up if he had tried to wake you up. He could shake you, kiss you, do what ever he wanted, but you still be fast asleep."

Kagome was still looking at InuYasha in shock. He lowered his eyes. "But then… when Henry attacked me… it was before midnight…"

InuYasha coughed and sighed. "I can also came back as me if somebody I really care about is in trouble and they can't do anything…"

Kagome looked down at her hands. "But that one time… when I was coming home from school…"

Henry laughed. "You weren't helpless. You hurt me pretty bad there…"

She glared at Henry, imagining strangling him. Yeah… that'd be a lot of fun…

"But then… how come Inugin and InuYasha are…"

Henry laughed again, that cold evil laugh that made you want to punch him. "Oh, that? To save Inugin and InuYasha, the spell lifted. Problem is, while under the spell, neither InuYasha nor Inugin could die. Well… the problem with that is, when close to death, the spell will save them from death, but won't heal them… thus leaving them dangerously weak… and at my mercy."

'_Oh crap…_'

_(A/N: A truck load of info, eh? Any questions, just ask in your review and I'll address them with the next update. So… what d'ya think? Crappy? Really? Damn… Oh, and, how should InuYasha and Kagome die, or how should Henry die? I'm thinking of killing off one or the other two… Hm… I NEED NEW IDEAS!!!!!!!! That's why I have you, ne?)_


	9. Revenge and Choices

**Chapter Nine**

**Revenge and Choices**

_(A/N: Wow… so many of you were for Henry's death… Some of you said something about making sure that he'd die a very painful death… Wow… I was kinda frightened reading the reviews… Amazed that you'd care so much, but frightened nevertheless… Eh he… -;_

_Ok, so here's to answer a few questions…:_

_**How did Henry know about Naraku? Was he lying?: **No, in fact, he wasn't. When Kagome first mentioned Naraku (during Christmas), he hadn't heard of Naraku. When he got thrown out, he did a little… 'digging'. a.k.a., threatening, stealing any documents with the hanyou's name, ect._

_**How does the curse work again?: **I found a lot of people were kinda confused about the curse. I can understand why… I don't think I explained it too well… Ok, so, Naraku made it so that InuYasha would be reincarnated 'bout ten years after Kagome was born. Weird spell, I know, but I kinda needed it… -; AND, he had to be a dog. Doggie InuYasha would slowly remember everything that happened, but would be unable to talk. But, there had to be a loop-hole…: InuYasha was able to become human when he reached puberty, ONLY from 12 AM to 1 AM, or when Kagome was in need and couldn't defend herself. If she was asleep, he couldn't wake her up. He could've shot a gun off by her ear and she'd still be sleeping peacefully… Least ways, he couldn't mean to wake her up. If she woke up by accident, it could work… That's pretty much it…_

_**What breed is Inugin?:** One of my friends asked me this: he's a golden retriever, but his fur, when he's InuYasha, is silver…_

_**How could Kagome talk to Henry when she was gagged?: **Oh, shit! You see, I wrote the beginning of that chapter, like, a week before the ending, so I forgot that she was gagged… Let's just say Henry cut off the gag or something…just for the sake of the story, 'kay? Thanks… and sorry 'bout my short term/long term memory loss… -;_

_That was pretty much it, so… Here's the next chapter…_

_The Kikyo Hater)_

InuYasha cringed as Henry kicked him in the face. A slow growl rose up in his chest and he pulled himself up to his hands and knees.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kagome slowly reach out for a broken piece of glass. She started using the jagged edge to saw through the ropes that bound her wrists together. InuYasha's eyes, however, were kept on Henry. He wouldn't let the bastard know what Kagome was doing because he was staring at the teenager.

"Oh, did I hurt the doggie woggie?" Henry asked in a sick version of a singsong voice. InuYasha's growl hit another notch and he felt his demon blood pumping dangerously. But he fought back against the demon blood. It wouldn't help him; quite the contrary, he might kill Kagome too, and that was the last thing he wanted to do…

Kagome hissed as the glass cut her, but kept going. Henry was sick, he really was… First, he was a pervert, then he tried to force himself on her, then he tried to kidnap her, and now, he's trying to KILL her!? Not to mention what he was doing to InuYasha…

Her blood pounded in her ears and her speeding quickened slightly as the ropes finally fell away, severed and useless. She made quick work of the rope entrapping her legs; it wasn't that tight of a knot anyways.

Over on the other side of the room, Henry was goading InuYasha. "Does puppy want a biscuit?"

She rolled her eyes. Seriously, had becoming a hanyou meddled with his brains or something!? It seemed that all hanyou that had once been humans but had sold their souls to demons went insane one way or another. Naraku: … Obvious… Sara: She was so desperate for Sesshomaru-sama, she was willing to kill the people who loved her the most. Henry: Need this Kikyo Hater say more?

Not to mention he needed to come up with better insults…

She slowly made her way towards Henry who seemed to be growing weary of insulting InuYasha since the Inu hanyou didn't seem to be doing anything.

"Well then, this has been fun, but I think that you need to be put down, right before Kagome dies… Funny… You've tried so hard to protect her and yet, you-"

He was cut off as Kagome launched herself at him, hooking onto his back and strangling him slight in an effort not to fall off. She didn't dare use her miko powers… she'd need them later for InuYasha.

Henry reeled, teetering slightly to one side, then to the other. "Stupid… bitch…" he hissed, gasping for air.

Finally, thanks to his hanyou strength, he tossed her to the side like a rag doll. Kagome slowly slid to a stop in front of InuYasha who hurriedly came to her side to make sure she was just fine.

"InuYasha," she said, panting slightly. She had, after all, just jumped a half-demon; who wouldn't be slightly out of breath. "Stay still…"

She placed her hands on his shoulders and poured out her miko powers. Typically, when a miko does this, she was going to purify the demon, but…

InuYasha's amber eyes widened. He was… healing. '_When did Kagome learn how to heal?_' he thought for a moment before he felt his strength, stamina, and best of all, health.

He could've jumped for joy, had not Kagome collapsed into a tired pile after healing him.

Bending down, his eyes swept over her. Kagome, _his_ Kagome, was having trouble breathing, and her eyes were glazed over.

InuYasha wanted to pretend to brush it off, make her feel better. Go 'Oh, don't tell me your tired after a little healing thing like THAT!', but he knew better.

Henry staggered to his feet. After Kagome had released him, he had fallen to his knees, trying to breathe normal again.

A smirk crossed his lips when he saw Kagome in a pile and InuYasha bending over her. "So… the little miko bitch has healed you… won't help you…"

That was it… it was small, and still a sucky insult, but InuYasha had almost died once today, had to go through enough of those tacky gibes, and was worried sick over Kagome. His demon blood roared in his ears, and he felt it slowly take him over. Tetsaiga was buried somewhere behind the Higurashi Shrine, and so, wasn't there to keep him from transforming into full yokai.

Leaping forward, he curled his hand into a fist and punched Henry right between the eyes. The hanyou feel back, dazed and alarmed. Where was the bent over, weak, and all bark but no bite hanyou that had been there only a moment before?

A groan alerted InuYasha to Kagome and he turned, his eyes already red, and his amber orbs slowly turning turquoise. Two jagged purple stripes had crawled their way along his cheeks, and his hair was standing slightly on end. Long fangs poked out from the upper lip, and his claws were longer than they usually were.

Kagome felt her heart skip a beat when she looked up to find fully transformed InuYasha glaring at her.

She cringed slightly, frightened over what he might do to her. Kagome didn't give a damn over what happened to Henry, but she knew that if InuYasha attacked her, she couldn't, wouldn't, fight back against him.

He turned away to find Henry quivering in a corner. InuYasha raised an eyebrow. '_Coward,_' he thought coolly. '_He CLAIMS he can stuff, but doesn't really have the guts to do it if there is any danger…_'

"Kagome," he growled, making said girl jump and look up at him. "Get the other part of me and get yourself out of here… you'll only be in the way." His voice was guttural, but Kagome knew that he was worried about her safety. Though she didn't know it, her safety was always at the front of his mind, human, hanyou, or yokai.

She nodded and grabbed Inugin, and getting away.

When she was out of the basement, Kagome had to squint her eyes. Grabbing her dog's collar, she made her painfully slow way to her house, weary beyond description from her healing, and frightened over what was going to happen. Higurashi-san cried out as her daughter shot past her, but Kagome just called over her shoulder that she knew everything and sorry for making her mother worry.

Finally, she was in her room, waiting patiently for InuYasha, Inugin curled up at the other end of the room.

A quick _rap tap tap_ at the window made Kagome jump, but rush over to it and open it. InuYasha was covered in blood (Henry's blood, she guessed since she didn't see a single scratch on him).

She gasped and took a step back, letting InuYasha fall gracefully to her floor. Kagome took a step forward, reaching a hand out, but her legs gave way, making her buckle and fall to her knees in front of the hanyou. Up close, their faces only about a foot apart, they studied each other. InuYasha no longer had red eyes with those terrifying pupils. Nor did he have those demon markings on the side of his face. Only a weary expression.

Kagome also looked extremely tired, shallow bags slowly showing under her eyes, and a weary, jumpy look that flashed fear and concern in those very eyes.

InuYasha picked Kagome up, much to her surprise, and laid her down on her bed. "Go to sleep," he muttered, sitting down next to her. "You look like hell…"

Kagome shook her head and sat up. "But… what happened? What about Henry?"

The Inu hanyou just smirked and cast her a mischievous look. "Let's just say, he won't be bothering anybody until he's reincarnated."

Kagome nodded. Good. Least that was out of the way…

Standing, she made her uneasy was to her desk. InuYasha jumped up to help her, but she waved him away. "No, no. Stay right there. Just a sec."

On her desk was the Shikon no Tama, glinting in the light of her lamp. Picking it up, she turned around and looked from it to InuYasha before holding it out to him.

"You… You died to complete this," she said, stuttering and forcing down a choke on the word _dead_. "I think it's only fair, after all you've been through, if you had it… It's your choice over what you want to be… Just remember that I'll love you not matter what."

He took the jewel and held it up, gazing at it in amazement. Now that he looked back on it, this little jewel had done nothing but make everybody's life hell…

'_You can be a full yokai now, just like you've always wanted!_' a little voice called from the back of his skull and he blinked. What he always wanted… Was it what he always wanted?

Kagome stood there, watching him look over the Shikon no Tama, his brows furrowed together in deep thought and unnamable expression slipping in and out of his features.

"InuYasha?" she asked, blinking. He started and looked up at her. Smiling slightly, he handed it back.

"No, I don't want it. You make the wish…"

Kagome blinked and felt like the world was turned upside down. What? He… he didn't… didn't want to be a… full yokai?

"But… but you-"

He gave her a lopsided smile, a single, normal sized fang slipping out from under his upper lip. "I thought I wanted it… I didn't. At first, when I had first heard of it, I did. Then, I wanted to live with Kikyo. When she died and you freed me, then, for a moment, it was what I wanted. Then I wanted to be free of that blasted spell. Then… I wanted you to be happy… to live… with me…"

It had to be a dream. It SERIOUSLY had to be a REALLY good dream…

Biting her lips, she looked down, her bangs covering her eyes. It had been what she had always wanted to hear from him… but she felt as if he was looking at Kikyo. Not her. Never her…

"But what about Kikyo?" she asked finally after an uncomfortable silence.

A sigh made her snap her head up. InuYasha was shaking his head, clamping the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "How many times do I have to tell you, wench!?" he cried, back to his normal old self. His eyes snapped open and he waved his hands, taking a step forward. "You are NOT her! I know you too well to not know that you feel like I'm talking to her, but I'm not. And, anyways, she's been dead since she shot me to the Goshinboku! She was never brought back… only her hatred for me was. And even when she was laid down to rest, only for a moment there, was she really her old self. Kagome… we never really loved each other… just felt… lonely. I was looking for a way to fit in; she was looking for a way to be normal… It was sort of a compromise! True, it was sorta love, but not true love! But after she died, I felt obligated to her since she had died to follow me! But, I guess it was more an act of duty that she didn't use the Shikon no Tama to save herself so that she could live; she knew it would taint it, and felt it was her duty to keep it pure and out of evil hands. Not out of love did she follow me, but out of a sense of duty…"

Kagome stared at InuYasha. He had just laid bare everything that had happened between him and Kikyo and how the two didn't really fall in love… and it made sense.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she stood up. "You… you said you wanted freedom, ne?" she asked, looking him square in the eye. He nodded, raising an ebony eyebrow in uncertainty.

Kagome smiled and closed her eyes. This would sap the last of her strength for the day, so she'd have to sleep after that.

"Then you should be free…"

Grasping the Shikon no Tama, she let her head fall. Whispering, she begged the Shikon no Tama to sever the lifeline from Inugin, and InuYasha, letting the two live, but be in separate bodies.

Pink lights flittered around InuYasha and the sleeping Inugin. InuYasha started, looking in fear at Kagome. But the fear died away. He trusted Kagome with his life, and knew she wouldn't betray him.

Trust… it had been one thing he and Kikyo didn't have… but he was glad they never had it. If she hadn't shot him to the Goshinboku, he would never had met Kagome…

The lights died away and InuYasha blinked. He looked at his hands, his claws, and his hair. Everything was normal… he wasn't human, nor was he full yokai… Then, what had Kagome's wish been. Her whisper hadn't been loud enough for him to hear-

He launched forward as Kagome's legs buckled. It had been a long day, and she had fainted, using all of her miko powers to make him free.

Placing her gently on her bed, he tucked her in, making her as comfortable as possible, before looking around the room for the Shikon no Tama. It had disappeared.

"So," he said quietly, settling in to a nice nap by Kagome's bed. "That's that then… Keh… Bit… easy… There's gotta be a catch."

But no, there was no catch. There was nothing but InuYasha and Kagome, and a cherry blossom on her desk.

The End

_(A/N: Oh ho! Nine chapters, and this last one was nice and long… and Henry died. You guys can imagine how he died… I was never one for describing bloody scenes… reading them, sometimes, when I'm in the mood for death and gore and crap, but never writing them. Ah well…_

_Anyways, what'd ya guys think? Was the ending good? I hope so… -giggles- So… please review! Thanks to everybody who already did and will, and thanks for reading me story. Sayonara!_

_The Kikyo Hater)_


	10. Epilog

**Epilog**

Kagome stretched, opening her eyes slowly. Slipping out of bed, she looked around. She'd have to go to work soon.

The smell of an omelet cooking downstairs made her smile. InuYasha could cook… who knew?

Running down stairs, she kissed her husband on the cheek, hugging his waist. "Oh, honey, you're making breakfast… what'd ya want?"

He just gave his usual 'Keh' of annoyance before turning and kissing her gently on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in deeper. They would've intensified the kiss hand not a child's giggle made them break apart.

A little five-year-old was standing at the doorway, giggling light heartedly. InuYasha growled, an ear twitching, and shot after the quarter demon who squealed and shot upstairs.

Kagome shook her head and took over cooking. She loved how much InuYasha doted on their daughter… she just didn't know how to tell him that a second one was on the way…

* * *

InuYasha grasped Haruka by the scruff of the neck and growled into her shoulder, running his claws carefully up and down her tummy, making her squeal and giggle even more.

Finally, the little girl broke away, grinning up at him. "Daddy," she asked, her golden eyes blinking lazily up at him from under her midnight black bangs.

"Hai?" he asked, setting her down on the top of the stairs and sliding down to the wall to stare her in the face.

"How did you and Mommy meet?"

He grinned, but looked at his watch and jumped. "That's a story for another time, Haruka," he said gently, kissing her on the forehead and jumping into his and Kagome's room and grabbing his Kitsune necklace. Slipping it over his head, his dog ears disappeared and turned into human ears. Black hair fell gracefully around him, and his claws and fangs were gone, though he still had golden eyes.

Looking at the calendar, he started. It had been eight years since they had defeated Henry, and six years since they had first gotten married/mated.

Eight years to the day since Henry, and in a month or so, he and Kagome would be celebrating their anniversary.

Smiling, he looked out the window and, in a flash, remembered everything that he and Kagome had to go through. Turning, he made his way downstairs, but stopped and looked quickly at an old battered sword. Tetsaiga. Grinning, he shook his head. It was ironic, it really was, that he was working for his own brother, just above Koga. Sesshomaru had wanted Tetsaiga so much… and Koga had wanted Kagome.

'_Ah, but I'm just happy I was able to end up with both in the end,_' he thought. For the family, they knew, life, could only get better…

The REAL Ending

_(A/N: Oh, didn't see this one comin' at ya, did ya? I mostly just posted this one up so you'd know what happened after everything and stuff..._

_Wow… ten chapties now… Nice. Anywho, this is the last ending, so… thanks for reading this far,_

_The Kikyo Hater, a.k.a., Zandra.)_


	11. Update Myes, that's right, an update!

**Update!!!**

Man… things have changed a bit, ne? Anywho, I bet you guys never thought I'd ever update on this story again? I was keeping off telling you guys this, demo… -looks left- -looks right- I have a squeal coming up!

Ok, so the sequel is about the years after Reincarnations have finished. And what about that pesky Shikon no Tama? It's been stolen (joy…), and now that InuYasha and Kagome's daughter, Haruka, has come of age, its time she joys in, with help from a few old friends, and a few new ones. Who stole the Shikon no Tama? Will they survive this time? Just read an' find out. The first chapter has been posted, and is here:

**Chapter One**

**The Shikon no Tama**

"Dad, why do you have a katana?" Haruka asked, tilting her head to the side. A waterfall of long black hair fell over her shoulder and her golden eyes sparkled as she watched her father. He was dressed in loose jeans and a white t-shirt. As usual, he wore a dog-tag and some rosary around his neck. Long black hair fell about his waist and his golden eyes flashed as he saw his eldest daughter holding a sheathed sword, the battered outside the only indication of how old it was.

"Ah, that," he said, drying his hair off and coming over to her, drawing the sword out and studying it, smiling to himself. "This, my dear, is the Tessaiga. My father had this made, along with its twin Tensaiga. His friend, Toto-sai, a master black-smith, built it… the annoying bastard. Probably still alive…"

He shook his head, sinking down beside his daughter who rightened her head on her shoulders so that it wasn't at an odd angle.

"But, Dad, you still didn't say WHY you still keep it… It's just a beaten up piece of junk, ain't it?"

InuYasha laughed and circled an arm about Haruka. "That's what I thought too… though it's, as an old friend… and coward told me, it's the thought that counts. That and this beauty has made my life so much easier… and it annoyed the hell out of Sesshomaru…." He laughed again and stood up. These days, with how the world was treating him, everything just seemed better. He was more likely to live than he had been twenty or so years ago, and he was less sulky… less likely to yell.

Haruka's legs made little circles as she swung them, sitting at the edge of her parent's bed. Amber eyes narrowed as she watched her father sheath his sword and smile fondly at it. Her shoulders slumped. He didn't appear as if he was going to tell her anything else any time soon…

Something twinkled a pale pink light and Haruka looked up, blinking as she slowly slid off of the bed, walking silently to her mother's dresser. It was slightly open, and a necklace sat there, sparkling cheerfully at her.

Slowly, her hand moved out towards it, her eyes narrowed slightly. She hesitated a moment, her fingers not yet touching the surface, but just ready to move forward and-

"HARUKA!"

Haruka jumped and whirled around, her eyes wide. Her father stood there, hands clenching and unclenching as he glared dangerously at her. "Baka! What are you doing over there?"

"I-I…" She gulped and started again. "I saw something and-"

InuYasha strode quickly towards the dresser and slammed the drawer shut, rattling the pictures of Haruka and her two twin younger brothers, Keiji and Keiju, along with her mother and her father, and a few assorted friends.

Taking a deep breath (obviously remembering those anger management classes Kagome had taken him to), he turned around. "Don't ever touch that necklace again. Don't think about it, don't talk about it, don't do _anything_ that has _anything_ to do with it, 'kay?"

Haruka bit her lip and lifted her chin, not denying her father, but not being meek and telling him that she would either.

InuYasha sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Please, Haruka… Please."

The pure wearied tone of his voice made Haruka flinch lightly. She hated to be the agitator… and her father knew that.

Sighing in defeat, she let her head fall as she looked sadly at her feet. "Fine…" she muttered, rolling her eyes and looking away.

InuYasha smiled. "By the way… today's you're fifteenth birthday, right?" Haruka nodded and InuYasha's smile turned into a grin. "Trust me, seeing as this is you're 'coming of age', you'll love this birthday."

Haruka gave her father a look, obviously saying 'Are you ok, Dad?' "Demo… I thought my 18th birthday was my 'coming of age' 'special day' sorta thing."

Her father grinned. "This day, sometimes, can be even better!"

She opened her mouth to ask him some more, but InuYasha shook his head. "Iie. Its time to go to school."

Haruka folded her arms and sighed, walking to the door. She paused and looked back. "Dad," she said, tilting her head slightly. "I just wanted to tell you…"

InuYasha looked up and nodded. "Yeah honey, I love you too."

Haruka made a face, obviously trying desperately not to giggle and burst out laughing. "No, not that… I was going more along the lines of 'you're kinda deranged'… but that works too!"

Squealing, she ran down stairs, InuYasha hot on her heels. Running and jumping around her ten year old brothers, she ran out the door, leaving InuYasha behind to "Keh, stupid brat… I'll get 'er when she comes home," and walk back upstairs.

Kagome smiled from her post on the landing. She had almost gotten run over, but couldn't help but smile. InuYasha had been so… different from the rude and abrasive hanyou she had known during the Sengoku Jidai… demo… seeing him act this way always reminded her of all their time together.

Sighing, she shook her head. Her life was getting a little too easy… and her mind was getting clichéd. "No doubt something's going to go wrong…" she muttered. "Or it's probably just me…"


End file.
